Industrial Adhesives
PLEXUS adhesives
PLEXUS construction adhesives require minimal preparation of their surfaces, significantly reducing the emissions of organic air pollutants and dust in the workplace.
Unlike other bonding methods that require cumbersome surface preparation and sandblasting, PLEXUS structural adhesives require virtually no surface preparation, reducing emissions of volatile organic compounds and dust in the workplace.
- Exceeds the strength of laminated joints
- Reduce cracking and chipping of gelcoats
- Faster and easier installation
- Wide range of open and working times to suit all applications
- Joint filling up to 37mm
Manufacturers in the transportation industry continue to choose Plexus structural adhesives for the following reasons
- Rapid room temperature cure reduces production time
- Resistance to oils and diesel fuels
- Reduced emission of volatile organic compounds
- Bonding of dissimilar materials
- Virtually no surface preparation
- Easy to apply
- Excellent fatigue resistance
Plexus structural adhesives are fully recyclable, meaning that plastic parts can be recycled without having to cut out the adhesive joints. In fact, thousands of car bumpers bonded with Plexus adhesives have been recycled in this way.
- Speed up production
- Bonds a variety of materials
- High strength and durability
- Proven applications
In recent years Plexus structural adhesives have been used successfully in many applications. These include: composite and thermoplastic doors, displexes, FRP architectural elements, bridges, FRP tanks and many more.
Many of these applications have seen the light of day thanks to the advice of the Plexus team who have been able to provide specialist solutions within the wide range of Plexus structural adhesives to meet the highest demands of manufacturers.
- Room temperature curing
- Exceptional bonding properties for a variety of materials
- Open time and initial strength can be selected for all applications
- UV stable
- Excellent chemical resistance
Examples of the use of PLEXUS adhesives in various applications
Marine
Sunseeker International, Formula Fastech, Boston Whaler, Donzi, Vanguard and Northshore Yachts are just some of the users of PLEXUS structural adhesives in a variety of applications including bonding composite stringers and hull to deck.
Structural bonding of stringers on high performance boats
Traditional performance boat building methods use plywood and heavy epoxy laminates with fibreglass in the hull construction to provide the power, rigidity, safety and handling quality needed for extreme speeds on the water.
Thunderbird Products of Decatur, IN, builder of Formula boats, has saved on labour costs by replacing plywood construction. Many Formula models now use a fibreglass and epoxy liner bonded to the inside of the deck using Plexus Fibreglass Fusion” adhesives.
Pat Laux, Thunderbird’s Product Development Manager, says that such a liner inside the hull, FAS3Techmultiplane, increases bottom strength by 20% and side strength by 10% without adding weight or labour.
Thunderbird chose Plexus adhesives because their advanced methacrylate technology requires no special surface preparation or primer, unlike urethane-based adhesives.
Bonding the deck to the hull - Northshore Yachts
Strong and durable
When faced with a rough sea, you need a boat you can rely on. That is why more and more boatbuilders are turning to new composite materials for strength and reliability.
Reduce assembly costs
Because Plexus adhesives chemically ‘weld’ fibreglass and composites, delamination will occur faster than the bond can be released. Plexus adhesives are easy to use, requiring no priming, sanding, grinding, virtually no surface preparation. This means that time spent on simplified assembly can be significantly reduced, thereby reducing production costs.
Clean and easy to use
You don’t have to take our word for it. To quote Northshore Yachts Ltd: “The use of Plexus adhesives for the deck and hull joints in our new Southerly 110 boat provided a clean, easy and safe joining system with minimal surface preparation.
Transportation
Plexus structural adhesives are commonly used by companies manufacturing rail vehicles, buses, caravans and trucks.
Applications include: Bonding ‘floating’ floors and modular washrooms in railway carriages; Bonding plastic composite panels in buses/coaches; and Bonding doors, headlight housings and front grilles on trucks.
Installation of a 'floating floor' in a train
Application
Installation of a ‘floating floor’ on the Coradia unit manufactured by Alstom Transport for First North-western.
Phenolic composite panels are bonded to an aluminium frame to create a revolutionary floating floor inside the train. This floor compensates for the movement of the vehicle and can withstand heavy passenger traffic.
Plexus adhesives offer
- Extremely strong bond
- High compressive strength
- Excellent fatigue resistance
- Exceptional flexibility
- Fast cure time
- Reliable and repeatable results
They are easy to apply and
- Do not require an oven to cure
- Environmentally friendly
- Resistant to chemicals, UV and high temperatures
- Recyclable
Certification
Floor designers and material suppliers in Italy suggested the use of Plexus adhesive for this demanding application. Extensive testing confirmed that Plexus MA420 adhesive had all the required properties. “This was the first time we used this product and it certainly simplified the installation of the floor compared to the adhesive we used before”.
Alstom spokesman
Bus body to chassis - Plexus glues the new Alero together
UK-based Optare has recently developed a low-floor minibus – the Alero.
The Alero consists of a single piece of coloured composite skin with a stainless steel frame integrated into the moulding process.
Optare needed a strong yet flexible adhesive to bond the cladding to the stainless steel frame. Due to the size of the components, an adhesive with an open time of at least 30 minutes but a cure time of 90 minutes was required.
Plexus MA556 was the solution that met all the requirements and, considering that no GRP surface preparation is required, it also meant that Optare could reduce labour costs compared to polyurethane adhesives.
The Alero, which provides ideal access for wheelchair users on rural roads and at airports, is now in series production.
Automotive
Automotive manufacturers use Plexus structural adhesives for a variety of applications including: bumpers, spoilers, sunroofs, body panels, grilles, etc. Customers include companies such as Ford, GM, Rover, Chrysler, Saab, Land Rover and Proton.
Automotive assembly - meets and exceeds recycling requirements of plastics manufacturers
Plexus adhesives are fully recyclable. Most thermoplastic parts bonded with these adhesives can be recycled without the need for labour-intensive cutting of the bond. In addition, the compatibility of the adhesives with many types of thermoplastics eliminates the need for special treatment when sorting plastics. In fact, Plexus adhesives are so chemically similar to some thermoplastics that they have minimal effect on the injection parameters and properties of the plastic. In fact, thousands of car bumpers bonded with Plexus adhesives have been recycled.
Allowing design freedom, reducing weight and improving quality
The exceptional properties of the bond and the effectiveness of Plexus adhesives free designers from the problems normally associated with bonding with typical adhesives or mechanical fasteners. As a result, they enable vehicle manufacturers to design and produce higher quality products – products that look better, perform better, last longer and cost less. By enabling manufacturers to bond new materials and composites, Plexus adhesives are helping to reduce and simplify the design of many of today’s cars.
Engineering & Construction
Architectural fibreglass bonding
Edon Corporation
In a recently completed project, Edon manufactured and installed 400 massive (1.2m x 3m) FRP fins for the exterior of the building – the headquarters of the Industrial Technologies Corporation.
Edon chose Plexus MA420 for its critical bonding application. The adhesive dramatically reduced labour costs by allowing the fins to be bonded during production, significantly reducing the need for mechanical fixing and finishing. Plexus adhesives were used to bond the fins to the aluminium frame system, which was then bolted to the building.
With over 35 years experience in the design, manufacture and installation of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) architectural ornamentation, Edon Corporation is the leading US supplier of FRP architectural detailing. The company offers a range of more than 250 standard architectural shapes from column caps to cornices of all types.
Suspension bridge sections
MA425 strengthens Halgover Bridge
Work has just been completed on the Halgover Bridge – the UK’s first suspension bridge linking a major A-road. It is the final link in the Sustrands bypass between Lands End and John O’Groats.
The bridge’s fabricators, Vosper Thornycroft, chose MA425 to bond the GRP corner to a vinyl ester based composite.
The fact that MA425 has DNV approval, excellent impact resistance, elongation of up to 120% and a long open time met the strict criteria set by Vosper Thornycroft.
MA422 was also used to glue the components in place as it has a shorter cure time, which was necessary as the road was closed for the duration of the project.
| Item | Colour | Mixing ratio (by volume) A:B | Viscosity [Pa*s] | Shelf life after mixing [min] | Curing time [min] | Shear strength [MPa] | Extension [%] | Gap filling [mm] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA300 | cream | 1:1 | A: 40-60 B: 40-60 | 4 – 6 | 12 – 15 | 20.6 – 24.1 | 15 – 25 | 4 |
| Application: Universal, high strength. | ||||||||
| MA310 | cream/ grey | 1:1 | A: 40 -60 B: 40-60 | 15 – 18 | 30 – 35 | 20.6 – 24.1 | 5 – 15 | 4 |
| Application: Ideal for difficult plastic bonds. | ||||||||
| MA320 | off-white/ white/ black | 10:1 | A: 135-175 B: 40-60 | 8 – 12 | 25 – 30 | 10.3 – 13.7 | 100 – 140 | 10 |
| Application: Excellent low temperature properties. | ||||||||
| MA420 | niebieski / czarny | 10:1 | A: 100-125 B: 25-35 | 4 – 6 | 15 – 18 | 12 – 15.5 | 100 – 125 | 8 |
| Application: Universal reinforced adhesive. | ||||||||
| MA420FS | niebieski | 10:1 | A: 80-100 B: 35-55 | 1 – 2 | 3 – 4 | 8.9 – 11 | 5 – 15 | 4 |
| Application: Fast cure adhesives. | ||||||||
| MA422 | blue | 10:1 | A: 100-125 B: 40-60 | 17 – 24 | 35 – 40 | 10.3 – 12.4 | 75 – 100 | 10 |
| Application: Universal with medium opening time. | ||||||||
| MA425 | blue | 10:1 | A: 100-125 B: 40-60 | 30 – 35 | 80 – 90 | 10.3 – 12.4 | 120 – 140 | 10 |
| Application: Universal with long open time. | ||||||||
| MA530 | grey | 1:1 | A: 160-180 B: 175-210 | 30 – 35 | 90 – 160 | 13.1 – 15.2 | 130 – 170 | 18 |
| Application: Multi-purpose, high strength, medium open time. | ||||||||
| MA550 | white | 10:1 | A: 130-160 B: 40-60 | 40 – 45 | 70 – 75 | 8.9 – 12.4 | 35 – 45 | 10 |
| Application: Marine adhesive, white, UV resistant. | ||||||||
| MA556 | blue | 10:1 | A: 190-220 B: 40-60 | 40 – 45 | 110 – 120 | 8.6 – 10.3 | 140 – 160 | 25* |
| Application: Rigid marine adhesive, can fill a large gap. | ||||||||
| MA560-1 | grey | 1:1 | A: 145 -185 B: 175-210 | 55 – 70 | 160 – 190 | 11.7 – 15.2 | powyzej 130 | 25 |
| Application: Universal, high strength, long open time. | ||||||||
| MA590 | grey | 1:1 | A: 175-220 B: 175-210 | 90 – 105 | 210 – 270 | 9.6 – 12.4 | 130 – 160 | 37 |
| Application: Universal, long open time, can fill a large gap. | ||||||||
| MA830 | grey | 10:1 | A: 90-120 B: 25-35 | 4 – 6 | 20 – 25 | 15.8 – 19.3 | 30 – 60 | 12 |
| Application: Metal bonding. | ||||||||
| MA832 | grey | 10:1 | A: 90-120 B: 25-35 | 12 – 16 | 50 – 60 | 15.8 – 19.3 | 30 – 60 | 12 |
| Application: Metal bonding, medium open time. | ||||||||
| MA890 | grey | 10:1 | A: 68-72 B: pasta | 8 – 10 | 20 – 25 | 10 – 13 | 30 – 35 | 4 |
| Application: Welding of galvanised steel. | ||||||||
| MA920 | blue | 10:1 | A: 100-125 B: 25-35 | 4 – 6 | 15 – 18 | 10.3 – 13.7 | 80 – 100 | 10 |
| Application: General purpose low odour adhesive. | ||||||||
| MA1020 | blue | 10:1 | A: 100-125 B: 25-35 | 4 – 6 | 15 – 20 | 8.6 – 11 | 90 – 110 | 10 |
| Application: Universal low shrink adhesive. | ||||||||
| MA1025 | blue | 10:1 | A: 180-220 B: 40-60 | 20 – 25 | 40 – 45 | 5.8 – 8.2 | 90 – 110 | 25* |
| Application: Low shrinkage, low odour adhesive capable of filling a large gap. | ||||||||
| MA3940 | off-white | 10:1 | A: 135-175 B: 40-60 | 12 – 15 | 25 – 30 | 10.3 – 13.7 | 125 – 175 | 10 |
| Application: Ideal for cracks in sensitive plastics. | ||||||||
| MA3940LH | blue | 10:1 | A: 120-160 B: 35-55 | 4 – 5 | 8 – 10 | 9.5 – 11 | 75 – 100 | 4 |
| Application: Universal fast cure adhesive. | ||||||||
*Recommended minimum joint thickness 2mm.
Our industrial adhesives are playing an ever-increasing role in modern production environments, improving efficiency and allowing you to avoid the challenges of achieving the highest quality products with ease.
Our extensive experience and specialized technical support can help you make the right selection of technology for your business, regardless of the industry you belong to.
